Coin-tray.



No. 801,149. PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

J. W. MEAKER.

COIN TRAY.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 21,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 14 PATENTED OCT. 3, 1905.

J. W. MBAKER.

COIN TRAY. APPLIUATION FILED APR. 21 1904.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 2.

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warren srarns PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN W. HEAKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES CLARENCEPOOLE, TRUSTEE, OF EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

COIN-TRAY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1905.

Application filed April 21,1904:- Serial No. 204,251.

To (oZ-Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN W. MEAKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Trays; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates to an improved coin tray or device for holding orsupporting coins of various denominations in separated groups, eachcontaining afixed or predetermined num ber of coins, so that all of thecoins in any one group may be taken from the tray at once without thenecessity of counting them and with the certainty that the number willbe correct. The tray herein shown as embodying my invention is moreespecially intended for use in connection with automatic coin-deliveryapparatus; but such tray may be used separately from such apparatus, ifdesired.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointedout in the appended claims.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view ofthe cointray embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of thetop plate of the cointray by which the coins are immediately supportedseparated from the other parts. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the tray. Fig.4 is a crosssection taken on line A A of F g. 3. Fig. 5 is across-section taken upon line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

As shown in said drawings, A designates a metal plate which constitutesthe main part or body of the tray and which is made of corrugated formor formed in such shape as to constitute a series of parallel ridges A AA A A A, with intervening grooves or depressions. Said plate A may bemade of sheetmetal and bent into corrugated or ridged form, or it may bemade of cast metal.

B B designate front and rear vertical end plates which are located atthe front and rear margins of the corrugated plate A at right angles tothe corrugations or ridges thereof and which are preferably used tocover the corrugated edges of said plate and to give a neat finish tothe front and rear of the tray.- Said plates B B may be connected withthe plate A in any suitable manner; but as herein shown they are joinedto each other and clamped to the plate by means of two horizontalconnecting-rods b 7), which are located outside of the sides of theplate A andare secured at their ends to projections or lugs on the endsof said plates B and B.

The several elevations or ridges A to A of the plate A are provided withcoin-receiving recesses or openings, which are formed transversely ofsaid ridges and open through the side faces thereof, so that oppositeend walls of the recess or opening will be elevated above the connectingside walls, and thus afford supports for maintaining coins in asubstantially upright position when inserted in said recesses oropenings transversely of said ridges. Said recesses or openings arepreferably formed centrally of the ridges and extend in said side facesat equal distances laterally or downwardfrom the highest parts or topsof the ridges, and, as shown, said openings are of rectangular form,having their side margins parallel with and their transverse edgesperpendicular to the center lines of the ridges. hen the plate is ofsheet metal or of corrugated form on both its upper and lower surfaces,the openings in the ridges extend through the plate, and in that casethe side margins of the openings constitute supports for the coins, thesame being located at a distance apart less than the diameter of thecoins, so that when the latter are inserted in the openings in aposition transverse to the ridges or with their flat faces perpendicularto the central lines of the ridges the margins of each coin will restupon and the coins will be supported by said side edges of the openings.

The coin receiving or holding openings described are made of differentsizes in the different ridges to receive coins of diflerentdenominations. In the particular construction shown openings in theridge A are designed to receive or hold silver dollars, those in theridge A half-dollars, those in the ridge A twenty-five-cent pieces,those in the ridge A* ten-cent pieces or dimes, those in the ridge Afive-cent pieces or nickels, and those in the ridge A one-cent pieces orpennies.

The openings or apertures in the plate are of such length or width asmeasured lengthwise of the ridges as to receive or hold a num ber ofcoins when the latter are arranged in groups, with the individual coinsarranged transversely of the ridges, or side by side, with the flatfaces of the exterior coins of each group in contact with the end facesor margins of the openings. The alternate openings in each ridge are,moreover, arranged with their side margins on which the coins rest indifferent horizontal planes, so that the groups of coins in alternateopenings when resting on the said side margins of the openings willstand above the level of the intermediate groups, as clearly seen inFig. A. This arrangement of the side margins of the openings enables thegroups of coins to be readily taken separately from the tray, it beingobvious that the higher groups, or those extending above the 0thers,maybe readily grasped by engagement of the fingers with the upper edges ofthe end coins of each elevated group and that after the elevated groupshave been removed the lower or intermediate ones may then be likewiseeasily removed from the tray.

In the case of the ridge A, used for silver dollars, the drawings showeach opening as arranged to receive ten coins, while the openings a- 0have their lower side margins arranged above the level of theintermediate ones, a a, so that the groups in the said openings a a willbe elevated above those in the openings 6/ a.

In the case of the ridge A which is intended for receiving and holdingsilver half-dollars, the ridge is shown as provided at its forward partwith openings a (4 having higher and lower side margins. Said openingsat the for- Ward end of the ridge are each made long enough to receivelive coins. At the rear part of the same ridge the latter is shown asprovided with much longer openings (0 a, each adapted to hold twentycoins and of which the openings (4* has its side margins higher thanthose of the opening a.

The ridge A is provided at its forward part with narrow openings (0 (1/adapted to hold live twenty-live-cent pieces and of which the openings(LU have their side margins at a higher elevation than those of theopenings ((7. At the rear part of said ridge A longer openings a a areprovided, each adapted to contain twenty twenty-five-cent pieces.

In the case of the ridge A for dimes the same is shown as provided withopenings (1/ a, each adapted to hold twenty-five coins and of which theopenings c have their side margins higher than the openings (0.

In the case of the ridge A for niekels or five-cent pieces the openingsare each made long enough to receive five nickels, the openings (4having their side edges higher than those of the openings a.

In the case of the ridge A, designed for holding pennies, the drawingsshow the ridge as provided with openings at a, all of which are of equallength and which are designed to hold twenty-five pennies, the sidemargins corrugated form.

of the openings (4 being higher than those of the openings a The saidplate A is shown in the drawings as made of a piece of sheet metal bentto form sharp angles at the apices of and depressions between theridges, with flat intervening parts or side walls arranged approximatelyat right angles to each other. Said plate may, however, be made of acast-metal piece or plate. When made of sheet metal, the plate A may bereadily and cheaply made by forming out the openings by the use ofcutting-dies when the plate is still flat and then bending the aperturedplate by suitable forming-dies into If said plate A be made of castmetal, it may be cast in corrugated form on its top surface or bothsurfaces without apertures and the openings or recesses to receive thecoin then formed by milling-tools arranged to act on the ridges of theplate to form the openings therein. In either case the plate may bequickly made with slight expense for labor. Moreover, the ridges andintervening grooves of the plate A need not be of the angular formshown, but may be of any other desired shape, the general result beingthe same whatever be the special form or shape of said grooves orridges.

l/Vhen the plate has openings of greater length than the diameter of thecoin to be inserted therein, as in the case of the longer openings shownin the drawings, coins inserted separately are liable to drop throughthe openings if by accident turned so as to bring their flat facestoward the side of the openings. To prevent the coins so droppingthrough the openings, I provide below the plate A a secondary corrugatedplate U, shaped like the plate A, but without any openings. The groovesof this plate C will be located beneath the ridges of the plate A, sothat spaces will be left below the openings in the plate A toaccommodate the lower parts of the coins when the latter are placed inproper position in the openings in said plate A, while any coins thatmay by accident drop through said openings will be received in thegrooves of said auxiliary plate C and will be supported by the latter.

The coin-tray made as described will usually be placed on the top of acoin-delivering or change-making machine of the kind heretofore used fordelivering one or more coins by the movement of coin-releasing keys; butsuch a tray may be used separately from such a machine for holding coinand to facilitate the counting and handling of the coin. The

drawings show the tray as supported on the upper parts of the two sideplates D D of such a machine, the lower edges of the lugs or projectionson the ends of the plates B and B being adapted to rest on the top edgesof the said side plates D D.

The tray illustrated is provided, in addition to its main part, adaptedto hold coins in sep arated groups, as above described, with areceptacle E for receiving gold coins or other odd coins not adapted forinsertion in the coinholding recesses, coins in rolls, or the like. Saidreceptacle E is shown as located at the right-hand side of the trayproper and as made integral with the same. When the tray is made ofsheet metal, said receptacle will preferably be made by bending thesheet metal of the tray into shape to form the side walls 6 e of thereceptacle, While its front and rear walls will be formed by the platesB and B. Preferably, moreover, the bottom of the receptacle E will beformed with ridges 0 arranged parallel with those of the body of thetray, said corrugations serving to facilitate the removal of loose coinsfrom the tray, because the ridges thereof will support such coins withtheir edges upwardly and will enable them to be more easily grasped thanwould be the case if they rested flat on the bottom of the receptacle.

I claim as my invention 1. A coin-holder comprisinga plate having a ribor ridge on its upper surface and a coinrecess formed thereintransversely of said rib or ridge, said recess having its side walls atopposite sides of said rib or ridge, whereby opposite end walls of saidrecess will be elevated above the connecting side walls and affordsupports for maintaining coins in asubstantially upright position whenplaced in said recess transversely of said rib or ridge.

2. A coin-holder comprising a plate having a rib or ridge on its uppersurface and coinrecesses formed therein transversely of said rib orridge, said recesses having opposite marginal edges in the oppositefaces of said rib or ridge, said marginal edges being at differentelevations in alternate recesses.

3. A coin-holder comprisingasheet-metal plate bent to form a rib orridge and having an opening therein formed transversely of said rib orridge whereby opposite walls of said opening will be elevated above theconnecting walls for maintaining coins in a substantially uprightposition when inserted in said opening transversely of said rib orridge.

A. A coin-holder comprising a sheet-metal plate bent to form a rib orridge and having a plurality of openings formed therein transversely ofsaid rib or ridge, said openings having opposite marginal edges inopposite faces of said rib or ridge, at difierent elevations inalternate openings.

5. A coin-tray consisting of a corrugated sheet-metal plate, havingopenings therein formed transversely of the ridges or uppercorrugations, said openings being adapted to receive and support coinsin a substantially upright position transversely of said ridges orcorrugations.

6. A coin-tray consisting of a corrugated sheet-metal plate havingopenings thereinformed transversely of the ridges or upper cor- Irugations, said openings having side marginal edges in opposite faces ofsaid ridges or corrugations at difierent elevations in alternateopenings.

In testimony that 1 claim the foregoing as my invention I affixmysignature, in presence of two witnesses, this 13th day of April, A. D.1904:.

JOHN W. MEAKER.

Witnesses:

G. CLARENCE PooLE, WILLIAM L. HALL.

